Bayer launches pack to help MS patients

Bayer has launched a new pack to make it easier for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to start therapy.

Sufferers of the disease are commonly prescribed Betaferon early on in their diagnosis and research has shown that gradually increasing doses of the drug leads to a high acceptance of it from the start.

The titration pack is “easy-to-use” and it is intended to simplify the process for physicians, nurses and patients in the first four weeks of treatment to administer the medication in stages.

Habib Dable, vice-president and global head of neurology and ophthalmology at Bayer’s global business unit for specialty medicine, explained because the body adjusts to the drug better there are fewer side effects.

“This is important because greater patient comfort, especially during the start of the therapy, can improve patient compliance to therapy and, consequently, its effectiveness,” he commented.

The titration pack is now available in Germany and will be launched in more European countries later in the year.

In order to increase the firm’s liquidity reserve and optimise the maturity of its financial liabilities, the Bayer Group this week issued a corporate bond worth 1.3 billion euros (1.2 billion pounds).